Page 21 of Fallen Angel

Callan stopped so abruptly that Hannah nearly ran into him.

“Because I am one of them.”

Chapter Seven

Hannah stepped back. Since she released Callan from the cave, he had only spoken against evil; he physically knocked the spell book out of her hands to keep her from accessing its darkness. Now, he stood before her, revealing that he was one of the Devil’s evil henchmen?

Callan’s sorrowful gaze pleaded with Hannah. He stepped toward her, but she maintained space between them.

“What are you?” Hannah asked.

Callan looked to the sky, then back at Hannah. His jaw tensed; his nostrils flared.

“Mara’s darkness seduced me,” he admitted. “I craved the way the book’s magic made me feel. My weakness allowed her to turn me into something despicable.” His throat tightened, and he swallowed hard. The young man who was urgent and determined moments ago now stood, shoulders slumped, and head cowered low. “She turned me into a Siren.”

Pinpricks stung Hannah’s skin and static danced between her fingers. She sucked in a deep breath, cool air filled her lungs, and she shakily exhaled. “Like, the people from the sea? The mermaids who call to sailors?”

“Another distortion made by the passing of time, I am sure. Though, I would not doubt that Mara could create such a beast.” Callan looked carefully at Hannah. “My touch has the power to influence others. If I give a command, the other shall have no choice but to obey.”

Disgust emerged on Hannah’s face. She had already fallen victim to his sorcery. “That’s what I felt? That’s what you were doing to me?”

“My aim was only to calm you when you were full of despair.”

“You take away people’s free will. That’s supposed to make me feel better?” Her heart raced in her chest and its thud vibrated in her ears.

“Only two souls have ever been able to resist my compulsion. Because Mara transformed me, my influence obviously does not affect her. And Raven was the other.You.You resisted.”

Should she be flattered? Proud of herself? Did the fact that she didn’t listen to his Siren’s command absolve his crime?

“How do I know you’re not evil…? That you didn’t help Mara create all her dark followers?” Hannah couldn’t believe they were discussing such strange things—things that were now her reality.

“I am evil. I aided her.” Tears welled in Callan’s eyes.

Hannah should have been scared by his admission to being evil, but the agony on his face was sincere. It matched the anguish and guilt burrowing within her own body.

“I was weak,” Callan continued. “I allowed myself to be taken by her darkness. She was my creator—my master. Just as I could compel the wills of others, she was the only soul who could compel me. She commands all her creations—her servants.

Silence brewed between them. Hannah struggled between the choice of running away or comforting him. If she ran, she may have been able to put this behind her. She could get back to her resolution for a fresh start and live safely in ignorance. Even though this option had some appeal, it was no longer a choice.

Hannah would always wonder about the magic that lived within her, the grimoire she was enticed by, and Callan—the young man who made her feel both at ease and completely terrified.

Hannah took a step forward. His emotion was too raw and tormented to be fake. “I think I believe you,” she said, still wary of the supernatural boy before her. “But how do I know you’re not compelling me?”

“My touch is not upon you.”

She remembered the odd sensation that came over her back on the beach and just moments ago when she was inconsolable. She remembered the impulse to do whatever he said and her sudden undying devotion. It was strong and unnatural. She didn’t feel that now.

“And you never wanted this?” Hannah asked, taking another step toward Callan.

“I willed myself away for eternity, not only to stop Mara, but to thwart myself from her compulsion. I do not regret my choice.”

Hannah’s heartbeat slowed and the tickle on her skin dulled.

Just as Callan caused harm by becoming something he never asked for, Hannah caused the death of her parents because of the Convergence—the moment her magic was activated within her. She recognized his pain and felt it overwhelmingly within herself.

“I need you to promise me two things,” she said.

Callan nodded.

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